Woman Given $2 Million In Death Of Ex-husband

NEWS IN BRIEF

January 22, 2000

KISSIMMEE - A jury Friday awarded more than $2 million to a woman who sued an emergency-room doctor and his employer in the death of her ex-husband.

Delia Susana Litvin of Buenos Aires, who sued on behalf of the couple's two sons, was awarded $2.27 million. The family was on vacation in 1997 when Jose Ricardo Karas, 51, who had a history of heart trouble, began to have chest pains, said Richard Womble, a lawyer for Dr. Dagan Dalton.

Karas and Litvin had divorced, but were reconciling.

Dalton evaluated Karas on Feb. 3, 1997, at Osceola Regional Medical Center. The diagnosis was angina and abnormal levels of fats in the blood. Karas left the emergency room with a prescription for a drug to relieve the painful condition, which is caused by a sudden decrease in the blood supply to the heart. He died the next morning.

The lawsuit claimed Dalton failed to perform appropriate tests, failed to monitor Karas adequately and did not diagnose his condition or treat him properly. It named the doctor and his employer, Osceola Emergency Services, which has a contract to provide doctors to the hospital's emergency room.

Womble said it was too soon to decide whether to request a new trial or appeal the judgment.